Learning
by anonymoussx
Summary: In her new body, Wanda reacts to everything like a blushing teenager. Ian teaches her how to live, and mainly how to love with all her heart. Lots of fluff, Rated T for now but subject to change. Please comment guys, this is new to me!
1. Chapter 1

These character all belong to Stephenie Meyer, I do not claim rights to any of them

It was a smile I so longed to see, the kind that reached all the way to his eyes. Seeing it made my heart jump, and it's pace quickened. It was the light at the end of the tunnel, the very first in strained times. It was a smile that belonged to me, _for _me...

"You look ... happy, Ian."

"Well look at where I am, I couldn't be anything but happy." I slowly looked around the small round cavern room. Where there had previously been two small cots pushed against the walls, there was now one large mattress. A thin sheet of purple lay gently over it, and two pillows that appeared to be gently tossed into place. So quickly this room had become mine... _ours. _

"Yes, sleeping in that cavern with everyone could have hardly been comfortable for you... the way that you sleep." I stifled a giggle, it was a good thing I didn't need much space in this body; with it's tiny and fragile limbs.

"That's not what I meant Wanda." One eyebrow up, the smile still in place, his arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me towards him. Before I had a chance to ask, his lips met mine with a kind of gentle force. This body was still so young, so shy, my muscles turned limp in his hands. He pulled away slowly, running his hand through my hair and sighed. "Hmm.. you're blushing." It was a full on grin now.

"I don't know if I'll ever get used to that."

"What? The blushing?"

"No! your kissing." I wrapped my arms around his neck, closing my eyes and pulling myself closer until my lips had found his once more. We were starting to find a familiar pattern with every stolen kiss. In those months during the rains that we had been limited to dark corners and quiet tunnels, I'd had time to explore the mystery of Ian's kisses. How was it possible that one simple form of contact could bring about such a rush? This body was always on high alert when Ian was around. He pulled away slowly again without letting go of my waist. This was probably the best thing, I might have collapsed if he had.

"It's late, and you've had a long few days." He whispered into my ear. I couldn't say what time it was, it had to have been past midnight. We had just returned from a short raid, picking up only a few things here and there for the coming months. The rains had stopped in our absence, and I was surprised to see that our rooms were ready upon our return. I had expected to be sleeping in the game room for another week or so. Then it suddenly occured to me, Ian and I had full privacy now. My heart started to drum, I could almost feel it punching through my chest. I had to calm myself before I could speak without giving myself away. Although I'm surprised Ian didn't feel the full force of my heartbeat.

"I should get cleaned up, " I whispered in response. I didn't want our first night together to be plagued by the smell of dirty hair and sweaty tshirts. I reached into the small bag that we had aquired in the last few days, pulling out a brand new black t shirt and a pair of loose fitting pants, Ian did the same. It would be nice to have fresh clean clothes, especially now that the rains had stopped and we weren't in constant fear of mudd. I had also aquired abrand new pair of sneakers that Ian had insisted on. The other ones had been around since that first trip into the desert, so long ago...

"Ready to go?" Ian asked. I nodded, placed my hand in his and let him lead the way to the river room. We found ourselves alone in the dark cavern, accompanied only by the sound of rushing water and the slight steam that escaped the cavern. Everyone must have gone to bed at this point for we passed no one on our way here.

I looked deep into Ian's eyes, and found them smoldering back at me. He had already managed to remove his shirt, and his dark hair had grown so long in the past few months that it had started to fall into his eyes. I brushed his hair back, longing to see that bright blue. Never letting go of my hand, he led me into the dark room that would be our private bath house for tonight.


	2. Chapter 2

We'd walked back to our room in complete silence. I couldn't even bring myself to hold his hand, I was so ashamed. He hesitantly pulled the door out, letting me walk in first and putting it back quietly behind us.

"I'm sorry." Ian's eyes sank to the ground, the hurt in them reflected in my own. He sank down onto our new mattress, leaning against the cavern wall in utter dissapointment. "I understand if you don't love me, if you don't want me in that way." His comment sent a wave of panic through my chest.

"Oh Ian no! I do love you and believe me, I want you in that way. I'm just..." I couldn't finish the sentence. I came to my knees on the mattress beside him, letting my head fall into my hands. I couldn't believe how I'd reacted. I'd let him lead me into the dark cavern river to clean up, and I'd felt the darkness had been on my side. I wasn't sure how ready I'd be to remove all my clothes if it hadn't been so dark. I could remember the incessant beating of my heart and how I longed to touch him and be close to him, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. The panic I'd felt when he brushed my shoulder, how quickly I'd run out and put my clothes on. The way that must have hurt him, I couldn't bare it. I couldnt find the right apology.

"What is it Wanda?"

I struggled to find the right words to explain myself. "I'm just... scared. I don't know how to do this Ian. I don't know how to love someone else with my entire body. My mind loves you, and my heart loves you.. but this body has yet to figure itself out. In all my lives I've never been this close to someone, I panicked is all. I'm so sorry"

"That's it?!" His tone took me by surprise. Too lighthearted, too relieved for what I had just told him.

"What do you mean that's it?" I was shocked.

"That's all? Im relieved... I thought maybe you had rethought this whole living arrangement. His arms were so swift in his movements as he swept me into his embrace. His kiss was urgent, pressing his lips hard against mine. I could feel his desire in the heat that generated between us. I sat myself up on his lip, wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms tightly around his neck. Our breaths became quick, chests heaving up and down in pace with eachother. I might have suffocated if he hadn't pulled away, pressing his forhead to mine. "Maybe we should slow down. I don't want to scare you away."

"You could never scare me away. All this might just take some getting used to."

"Well.. maybe we could ease you into it." There was that eyebrow again, I must have mirrored his expression for he started to chuckle.

"How would we do that?"

"Well, we could start like this..." His lips moved slowly to the bare skin on my neck. With just the smallest amount of pressure, he began to trail a line of kisses. My breathing hitched, becoming rugged and fast again. His hands were in my hair, clutching at the scalp and pulling my head down at an angle to give him more leverage. The prickling in my scalp only heightened the sensation causde by his lips. "Good?" he breathed against my throat.

"Very ... good," I was gasping for air now. He gave a breathy chuckle and lowered me onto the mattress, laying his own body on it's side against mine. His fingers began to trace a pattern on my skin, leaving a trail of heat down my arm and then back up again. His mouth found my neck once more and fell back into it's familiar rhythm. His hand came down across my chest, pausing only to let my breath catch up with me. It found it's way to my stomach, lifting my shirt just enough to start the whole breathing process over again. He stopped himself before he went any lower.

"I love you Wanda. The way you make me feel... it's exhilerating." _I could get used to this_, I thought to myself. I would try as hard as I could, I would love Ian the way he deserved to be loved.


	3. Chapter 3

**hey guys, sorry it took so long to update. I'm off from work for the next few days so there should be more coming shortly. Here is a bit of a filler chapter, im hoping to incorporate a little more storyline. Once again, please review, i appreciate them all! I've already started working on chapter 4 so stay tuned..**

With every day that passed I found myself falling more and more in love with the man behind the blue eyes. We had begun to play a quiet game: a game of stolen kisses in a dark tunnel or unheard whispers at dinner. At night when we lay in bed, he hadn't touched me like that first night again. Our kisses burned deep inside of me, burning a desire for more while my brain whirled and begged for him to stop. The soft touch of his hand on my lower back while we were plowing the field, the feeling of his breath in my ear when he whispered to me in the dining hall: i was on a thin line between what i thought i wanted, and what my body was begging me for. I wondered how much longer this constant tease and game of tag could last.

"Wanda?" The familiar voice brought me back to reality. It was my voice.

"What? Oh, sorry... I must have dozed off or something." I brought my attention back to the crowded dining hall, where many of our friends had begun to clear their places and head back to work. Melanie lowered her eyebrows and gave me a perplexed look.

"Is everything ok?"

"It's great." I couldn't even convince myself. Melanie continued to stare at me, unconvinced. Maybe the fact that we had shared a mind for so long made her more in tune to my emotions. Maybe it was just that we had this silent bond between us.

"Come on, lets go relax. It'll give the boys something to do, and we can talk." I couldn't refuse her, I had been working hard that morning and wanted nothing more than to lay down. She grabbed my hand and dragged me out of my chair, stopping only to drop our trays off in the makeshift kitchen. As we made our way down the familiar tunnels she lead me away from my room and into the room she shared with Jared. She dropped herself onto the mattress and I followed suit. I couldn't bring myself to speak first. "What wrong Wanda? What is bothering you? I know there is something.. I know you too well."

"I don't know where to start, or if anything is even wrong really... I'm just confused I guess."

"Confused about what?"

"About Ian... about things _with _Ian."

"Wanda if you don't want to be with him, you don't have to. You don't owe him anything you know... I hope he's not making you feel pressured." Her voice grew more intense and I couldn't help but smile at the protective undertone. "...What?"

"Of course I want to be with him, I love him. It's ... _other _things I'm confused about..." I strayed off, unable to find the words to continue.

"Well what else is there to be confused about? If you want to be with him then ... " I saw the realization hit her in a wave. "...Wanda you don't have to rush into anything, if you two havn't made it there yet." I hadn't realized the moisture swelling in my eyes, threatening to spill over the brim.

"I'm just so confused." I breathed a sigh of relief, it was so nice having someone to talk to. "I love him and when I'm with him I can feel how much he loves me, and he's trying to be a perfect gentleman and not push me further... I just don't know where _I _stand. Sometimes my body wants it to happen so badly..." my cheeks were redenning. The heat was pooling behind my translucent skin. "But my brain always stops me. What if I don't make him happy? What if I'm not good enough, I don't know how to do any of this." I couldn't go further, I knew that I had made my point.

"Wanda don't worry. When you're ready... when your body and your mind and your _heart... _are all in sinc, you'll know. You don't need to worry yourself over it, everything comes with time. Your body is so young, even your soul... as a newcomer to this species is young. You can't expect to figure out all of life's mysteries at once. Whether you're good or bad, whether it happenns to tomorrow ..." my breath hitched at the thought. "... or next year, Ian will still love you."

"Do you really think so?"

"Of course I do. I cried the first time..." She trailed off, maybe at the unexpectedness of her confession. The look on her face was so endearing. Melanie... _my Melanie.._ so brave and strong and constant, it made me love her so much more. It made me so thankful to have her in my life. _My sister_.


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok guys, I'm doing the best I can, I don't mean to make the chapters so short but I'm writing as much as I can in the time I have. I'm back at work but have another few days off soon so I'll be updating more consistantly I promise! Let me know what you think as always, hopefully i'm givin you guys what you want! Thanks!**

My footsteps echoed off the cave walls as I quicked my pace in the dark. It seemed hours since I'd left Melanie's room. I was an autopilot, barely even bothering to take in my surroundings, I'd known the mad labyrinth of these caves for a long time now.

"Where you headed in such a huff?" The sound nearly knocked me off my feet, I staggered against the wall of the cave in shock.

"Where did you come from?" I breathed, steadying myself against the rock. Jared flicked on his flashlight, he obviously thought it amusing enough to follow me in the dark.

"I was headed back to my room and I saw you walking with a purpose." He chuckled at his own joke.

"So you thought it would be fun to scare the life out of me?"

"No... I just wanted to see how you've been." He kept shifting his weight around, nervous to go on. "You seem really distracted lately." I couldn't help but laugh, seemingly making Jared more uncomfortable.

"I've been hearing that a lot lately, I'm okay. I'm just.. getting used to being me." This seemed to answer enough of the question. I took him all in, from the dark color of his arms to the stubble on his chin. Some part of me still felt a pull towards him. It was slightly off-putting.

"Well okay then. Tell Ian I'll see him later ok?"

I nodded quickly in his direction as I continued on my way back to the room. What did he mean he'd see Ian later? He saw him all the time. As I got closer to the room I saw that Ian had the battery lamp still on. I thought he'd be asleep by now, having played soccer all day. I'd ended up staying at Melanie's longer than expected. I crept into our room and found him stuffing a small bag with an extra t shirt, and a flashlight into his jacket.

"Hey," he turned around, flashing me his best smile. "What took you so long?"

"I was with Melanie," ... answering slowly... "we lost track of time. Where are you going?"

"Jared and I gotta go for a few supplies. We'll be gone a day or two."

"Just you two? Don't you need me to go?

"No, that's alright. Get some rest, you've been doing a lot lately. Burn and Nate are going to meet us at the hanger, Jeb's been encouraging it. I think he's hoping to build strong ties with their group." He must have seen the uncertainty in my face. _God_... why was I being so childish? I exhausted myself just trying to keep my lips from quivering. I clearly hadn't convinced him. He crossed the small cavern in 3 strides and wrapped his arms around my waist. He burried his face in the hollow of my throat, raising goose bumps with the heat of his breath. "What's wrong? It'll only be a few days, we need to get the cars fixed and refill our battery supply. It's nothing serious. You won't even notice I'm gone."

"I know..." I wrapped my arms around him, pulling myself closer. "I just havn't been without you, I'm not sure I want to give it a try." I breathed in deeply, inhaling the scent of him, burning it into my memory. He placed a soft kiss on my throat, sighing as he pulled away. "When are you leaving?"

"In a couple hours, we're supossed to meet there at 1." He glanced quickly at his watch. "I'm yours till then though..." He winked at me, smiling even more. "Come on." He swept me into his arms and carried me over to the bed. He didn't let go as he placed us on the mattress and pulled the quilt up. He pressed his lips against my cheek.

I could feel my flesh rising as he stroked my arm with his fingers, stopping every few inches to trace a circle on my burning skin. I turned towards him, reaching my lips to his without hesitation. He responded instantly, our heartbeats quickening together at the taste of eachother. He pulled me closer as we both gasped for air; breathing into my ear. "Someday Wanderer, I'll have all of you. The wait only makes me want you so much more. But I will wait... as long as you need me to." He kissed me then, the sweetest sensation I'd ever felt.


End file.
